Although Atlas technically went to
the top of a 14er (14 thousand foot peak) when he was in Yadéeh’s belly, we
thought it would be fun to see if we could aim for another one, now that he was
his own person. Every year for Labor Day, we try to take a big backpacking
trip. This year, we wanted to explore more of southern Colorado. Initially, we thought
of starting to begin hiking the Colorado Trail in segments. However, after
looking into it, the necessary hiking distance each day was a bit much for
Yadéeh with a 45 lb pack (when you count a 30 lb Atlas) and a 60 lb pack for
Justin (since he had to carry virtually all of the gear for the three of us).
We decided to hike in to Navajo
Lake—an alpine lake outside of Telluride in the Lizard Head Wilderness, which
is part of the San Juan Mountains. Navajo Lake also happens to be nestled below
three 14ers: Mount Wilson, El Diente, and Wilson Peak, as well as one 13er (Gladstone
Peak). There is no shortage of mountains
to climb when camping in the Navajo Lake basin.
We arrived at the trailhead and
were pleasantly surprised by the relative lack of cars in the parking area,
considering it was a trailhead to 14ers on Labor Day weekend. With clear skies and a nice cool breeze, we
were set to hike in perfect weather. Atlas started out riding in the carrier, and
even fell asleep for a bit. When he woke up, he decided he wanted to hike. This
was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, he wants to hike, which is great for
both Yadéeh’s comfort and his experience and buildup of endurance and enjoyment
of hiking. On the other hand, it means very slow progress, as he picks up
rocks, touches EVERY plant of a certain kind, looks for more grasshoppers, etc.
His slow progress wore on Justin because
of the difficulty of carrying such a large load at this speed. As a result,
Justin hiked ahead with our friend Kenneth, while Yadéeh and Atlas strolled
along at Atlas pace until he decided “I just resting” and sat in the middle of
the trail.
The views along the way were
breathtaking: To the west, we saw Dolores Peak (13,290 ft) jutting above the wildflower-laden
alpine meadows through which our trail meandered. After resting, hiking,
resting, hiking, resting, Atlas finally wanted to ride in the backpack again.
Of course, this was right as the switchbacks were starting up. We don’t know
which was slower, Atlas hiking at his pace, or Yadéeh carrying Atlas up the
switchbacks. Yadéeh and Atlas eventually made it to camp around the time Justin
finished setting up the tent. Justin found a nice site right outside of the
actual basin so we could have camp fires and be away from other campers. Star-gazing
with no ambient light other than the camp fire, while being serenaded by the
sound of a rushing stream and taking in the crisp mountain air never gets old.
Once camp was set up, we took a
relaxed stroll over to the lake for a little exploring. Atlas did great hiking
around on the scree fields. There were a few “chairs” made up of rocks from the
talus field set up to overlook the lake, so we took a seat and relaxed for a
bit. That’s when we saw a pika! We hadn’t seen them before, so it was very
exciting (at least for Yadéeh…). A challenge you never really think about, when
deciding to include your toddler in your adventures is that when both parents
want to rest, from a hard days hike, the kid wants to play! Luckily, back at
camp, Atlas was able to wonder around with the dogs. That’ll do the trick.
Another challenge is keeping your
toddler in his sleeping bag throughout the night so he doesn’t freeze. Getting
Atlas into his bag at the start of the night is never an issue. It’s keeping
him in it that is the problem. We make sure to dress him warm enough in case he
gets out of his bag, but even then, it was a cold night. Atlas woke up in the
middle of the night fighting to get out and took some time to calm him down
enough to get him bundled up again.
With the sun brought the ambition
to try for a 14er! Maybe. As we hiked up the steep scree mountain side, the
winds started whipping through the basin. Atlas started to get cold, which was
not surprising since he has such little body fat and was stationary in the
carrier. We stopped for lunch and improvised a way to keep him warm. Yadéeh’s
puffy on his legs with his rain pancho to keep out the wind, Justin’s on his
upper body, with the pack rain cover for added protection. That made him a
happy camper.
Although, Justin decided it would be best for him and Atlas to
descend to basecamp because the wind was turning Atlas’s carrier into a sail,
Yadéeh and Kenneth continued to climb out of the basin. However, they too decided to turn around at
about 13,000 feet because the trail forked with each fork being a 3rd
class scramble up a different 14er. The
winds on the way back were much fiercer than before, which meant Justin made
the right decision.
Meanwhile, back at camp, Justin saw
two marmots playing around on some rocks, while Atlas slept in the carrier.
When Atlas heard about sleeping through the marmot siting, he of course wanted
to try and find them again.
Jade and Roscoe (the dogs) couldn’t agree more.
They were continuously chasing after the pika and marmots then entire trip. Yadéeh
and Kenneth met up with Justin and Atlas down by the lake. On the hike back to
camp, Yadéeh and Atlas found raspberries, ripe for the picking, another thing
that Atlas was very excited about. We kept our eyes open for more, but had no
luck. We did, however, find some great firewood, which Atlas gladly helped
carry back to camp, whereupon he began telling Justin and Kenneth how the dogs
barked when other hikers passed by. Silly kid.
The remainder of the trip was
filled with more of the same, which never gets old. At Atlas’s age (2.5 years
old), it is a bit easier for us to set up and break down camp, since Atlas can
help, or at least keep himself entertained while we do the work. For example,
he used a log to do the yoga airplane pose.
The hard part is keeping track of
him. We may have to invest in a GPS tracker, just to be safe. Atlas hiked quite a bit of the hike out,
again, a slow endeavor, which resulted in us getting home later than desired,
but we still let him do his thing. We don’t want Atlas to become frustrated or
turned off to hiking and exploring outside, and, kids will be kids. Hopefully,
the more he gets used to hiking, the sooner he will be ready to carry some of
the weight!
After we got home, Justin did a bit
more research on the 14ers in the area. Yes, that is the kind of backwards
thinking he is known for. It turns out that
it wouldn’t have been safe to summit any of them anyhow, as they are all
technical ascents. Perhaps we’ll find a less technical one as a family hike for
next summer. We will also be back either
without Atlas or with him when he is a bit older to tick off those technical
routes! We are already wondering if they
make ice axes for toddlers.
